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New website has me rethinking SEO of the older ones

By Bob Elliott

Home Inspector with Elliott Home Inspection

May 30, 2011 02:19 PM

My newest website is the result of a great template from Home Inspector Pro and bit by bit over time learning by trial and error.

Attending Active Rain camp ,reading articles on the internet,listening to HIP's Dominic and using tools such as SEO Book or others that help you determine rank such as Mike Marketing Tools which is needed as the browsers do not give you an accurate account of where your sites actually sit since they base results on your past searches even when you log out.

My point being that I have multiple sites now and as time passes they get better (I hope at least).

Here is my newest site at www.chicagolandhomeinspector.com which I am proud of as the first site where I made an effort to follow expert advice as closely as I could.

Chicagolandhomeinspector.com screen shot

I even added my own video on You Tube which they say is good for helping in ranking.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLcLbcNqedU

I have two of my oldest sites sitting well with www.chicagolandhomeinspection.com ranked #2 under its key terms and www.chicagopropertyinspection.com my flagship site doing well also and featured on Google places however they have an older look and are showing their ages.

Below gives you an idea of what I mean.

web site screen shot for Chicago Home Inspector

The spacing is terrible and the blogs are old so why do I not change it?

Can anyone guess and can you give me advice on what you would do ?

I will save time and tell you right now that I leave them alone because any changes I make might drop them down in rank and actually hurt business,so what would you do if in my shoes?

Any help or ideas are appreciated.

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Hrisco & Associates

Hrisco & Associates - Roanoke, TX

Roanoke Homes for Sale - Roanoke Neighborhoods

Hi Bob, nice looking new site, however, the header image looks like an Agent vs. a Home Inspector, how many home inspectors do you know that wear suits to an inspection? Might consider a wardrobe change for him. On your older sites, can't you keep some of the same content, however reorganize it according the newest SEO practices you have learned to give it a fresher look? Best of luck.

May 30, 2011 02:32 PM

Bob Elliott

Elliott Home Inspection - Chicago, IL

Chicago Property Inspection

Hi John

They say good appearance is important and it is a great picture.My own image is seen just below in the image and also the video however you are the first to even notice that so I will leave as is for now though maybe I should use some guy with a blond hair crew cut and bib overalls....hmmmm seems familar.

I may be using those same models later on with different poses so we shall see.

Actually Some of these new Condo develpments are so clean I often thought of wearing a suit.I love jeans and T shirts but would never dress that way for an inspection though some areas of the country I hear they show up in shorts.

Nice Khakis for the pockets and Polo shirt with logo does it for me.

Getting back to subject I am actually afraid that if I change anything it will have a negative impact on my rank with Google.

Type in Chicago Home Inspector and for a long time now I am ranked #2 which has stayed that way for many monthes and you know what they say."If it ain't broke don't fix it"

If I for instance clean up the top of those 3 tiny images or get rid of the flash how will Google spiders see that?

I honestly do not know.

Ever since Google Places took over the top part of the pages on search my visibility has suffered so maybe I am just being a little paranoid.

I do know that dropping even a couple slots can mean the difference in how many calls I get though the look of the site may actually hurt more.

May 30, 2011 02:48 PM

Jack Gilleland

Home Inspection and Investor Services, Clayton - Clayton, OH

Bob it looks great, and organized well. Hope it works well for you.

May 31, 2011 07:26 AM

Thank You Jack.

Can not help but notice you are also using Home Inspector Pro for your site.The templates are pretty good IMO and a big help .

My older sites are web.com but I simply hate the risk of transfer at this time till my HIP sites climb in rank.

I see Hubspot is having a seminar on nwebsite redesign as I just received a email from them this morning.

Looks like it is on June 9th.

So maybe I will get some ideas on how to do the old one with no harm to my ranking.

Here is a link to the event.....http://www.hubspot.com/website-redesign-kit/?source=email-the-science-of-website-redesign-p-20110531

Anyone ever deal with them before?

May 31, 2011 07:32 AM

Hi Bob, I agree if it ain't broke, don't fix it, sometimes the ugliest sites perform the best, (not saying yours is ugly or anything). Though the look may bug you as the owner of it, if the phone is ringing, don't mess with it, once the calls slow down, then you might consider changes at that time.

May 31, 2011 07:58 PM

Strange but true.

The hosting site for the ugly one(I agree) sent me a email that they were doubling my hosting fees on June 8th.Talk about coincidence.

As it turns out I spent a good 20 minutes just chatting with the call center lady and she said I could get help with making some changes plus would make sure my rates stay the same.

Soon as things slow down I am on it.(Just need to modernize)

Using web.com on that one since 2007.

Jun 03, 2011 04:10 AM

Steven Turetsky

Comprehensive Building Inspections & Consultants - Staten Island, NY

Building Moisture Analyst

Hey Bob,

New site looks great. So I was hoping to get some help with mine. My EIFS site shows up great, but my HI site needs help. OK, so let me know when we can get together.

Steve.

Jun 15, 2011 01:29 PM

I certainly am far from expert but am willing to help when asked Steve.

Going into a vacation mode around the 4th and should have time in July as that is my slower season.

But we can try anytime and I am always free to share anything I learn with you buddy.

Jun 15, 2011 08:51 PM

New website has me rethinking SEO of the older ones

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